Maple trees turn golden along the Hoosic River in Williamstown in November. Photo by Kate Abbott

Nature

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about nature, listed from newest to oldest. In the country, the living world of our forests, mountains and lakes influence our communities and our daily lives. The Hull Country Observer explores stories of the environment and the landscape in a changing climate.

  • Issue:

    In sign of spring new life emerges on farms

    , , ,

    Area events provide close encounters with piglets, lambs and more   Piglets are among the new arrivals this spring at the annual Baby Animals festival at Hancock Shaker Village in the Berkshires. Susan Sabino photo.   By KATE ABBOTTContributing writer HANCOCK, Mass. The barn is different on a spring night. Calves lie in the hay read more

    In sign of spring new life emerges on farms
  • Issue:

    Restoring the Batten Kill watershed

    , ,

    Groups band together to protect a river famous for its wild trout   The Batten Kill rushes under a covered bridge in the hamlet of Eagleville, N.Y. Photo by Joan K. Lentini.   By DON LEHMANContributing writer SALEM, N.Y. A man snorkeling in a shallow pool of water in remote Camden Creek is not a read more

    Restoring the Batten Kill watershed
  • Issue:

    A battle over saving bees

    , ,

    Farming, green groups debate New York bill to ban neonic pesticides   A close-up view of bees from a hive at Dancing Bee Gardens, near Middlebury, Vt., taken in 2015. Photo by Joan K. Lentini   By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   New York lawmakers are expected to vote in the new year on whether to read more

    A battle over saving bees
  • Issue:

    Farming for a greener future

    , , , , ,

    New effort guides investment in region’s local food system   The sheep at Studio Hill Farm in Shaftsbury, Vt., are rotated frequently to new grazing areas. Photo by Joan K. Lentini   By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer SHAFTSBURY, Vt. Jesse McDougall became a farmer a decade ago by twist of fate. He and his wife, Caroline read more

    Farming for a greener future
  • Issue:

    New role will test Stefanik’s green positions

    , ,

    Rise into GOP leadership creates new pressures to adhere to party line By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, recently elevated to the House Republicans’ No. 3 leadership post, has a significantly more moderate record on environmental issues than Liz Cheney, the Wyoming congresswoman Stefanik replaced. That’s prompting some environmental advocates and political read more

    New role will test Stefanik’s green positions
  • Issue:

    Urban density vs. open space

    , ,

    Developer Chris Patten’s proposal to put up a 64-unit apartment in downtown Glens Falls has met a local wish for green space. By Evan Lawrence read more

    Urban density vs. open space
  • Issue:

    The art of venturing outside

    , ,

    Grounds, gardens become destination for visitors to cultural sites   Atelier Van Lieshout’s “Blast Furnace” is among the works in the sculpture park at Art Omi in Ghent, N.Y. The arts center’s grounds have remained open to visitors during the Covid-19 pandemic even as its indoor galleries have been shuttered. Many other cultural sites across read more

    The art of venturing outside
  • Issue:

    Filling a need for food

    , ,

      Cars line up to receive an emergency food packages May 26 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. Regional food banks and local charitable organizations have organized a series of similar events around the region as unemployment has spiked upward amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Scott Langley photo   By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   Inside the local read more

    Filling a need for food
  • Issue:

    Putting worms to work

    , ,

      Bill Richmond, owner of Adirondack Worm Farm in Kingsbury, N.Y., displays a bin in which red worms consume food wastes and other organic materials collected from area homes to produce compost. Joan K. Lentini photo   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer KINGSBURY, N.Y. When Bill Richmond bought his 40-acre farm two decades ago, he had read more

    Putting worms to work
  • Issue:

    Tale from a river town

    ,

    Conflict over Hudson fishing shacks provides inspiration for novel   A real-life controversy over a cluster of old fishing shanties along the Hudson River in Hudson, N.Y., has become the basis for a local author’s new novel. Susan Sabino photo   By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer HUDSON, N.Y. In the pre-dawn hours of a summer morning read more

    Tale from a river town